Preview by Eastern High School Senior Jacob Wood
For years the Eastern Relays have provided runners from the midwest and southeast with a chance to prove themselves. Many of these athletes are the top in their event in their local region but with 8 states and 150 schools represented, everyone will find good competition here.
This year is no exception. The top-seeded athlete in the 100m dash is senior Noah McBride from Evansville High School, with a seed-time of 10.65 seconds. McBride is followed closely behind by LaCarr Trent, with a difference in times of .05 seconds, and Augustine Tugbe, again following with a difference in his and Tugbe's time of .05 seconds. Behind these top three runners there are 20 athletes who are less than half-a-second behind McBride and 62 runners total. That means that this race is up for grabs at the moment and with so similar times a decisive victory is unlikely, making for an interesting race.
On the girls side, the top-seeded athlete in the 100m dash is senior Brooke Raglin from Bryan Station High School, with a seed-time of 11.82 seconds. Just behind her is Ameia Wilson, whose seed-time is only .04 seconds slower, making it 11.86 seconds. Just behind Wilson is Doneasha Brewer, with a time of 11.92 seconds. There are eight runners in total, who are less than a half a second behind Raglin, so this will be another tight race. Overall there are 52 runners in the event.
In the girls 200m dash, the top-seeded athlete is McKenzie Long with a seeded time of 24.21. Behind her are Amariah Thomas and Brooke Raglin with seed-times of 24.22 and 24.29 respectively. There are 64 runners total.
In the boys 200m dash, the top-seeded runner is Calvin Austin III, with a seed-time of 21.41. Austin is followed by Noah Mcbride and Donovan Whitmore, with seed-times of 21.53 and 21.55 respectively. There are a total of 60 runners in the boys 200m dash.
The boys 400m dash has 50 runners and at the top of the list is Jayvonta Tolliver, with a seed-time of 48.11 seconds. Tolliver is followed by Calvin Austin III, with a time of 48.44 and Terry Simuel with 48.76.
In the girls 400m dash Jaydan Wood is the top-seeded runner with a time of 55.36 seconds. Right behind Wood are Talor Wilkerson, with a seed-time of 56.94, and Kaleb McDonald, with a seed-time of 57.36.